Cheesy Gouda Shells (for one)

Think of this as like, grown up, sophisticated Easy Mac. It is seriously maybe like 12% more difficult so you really do not have any excuses. If you are craving a gooey creamy bowl of GOOD cheesy shells (think Panera Bread mac) (but this is MORE CHEESY), this is the purrrrrfect recipe for you. It also only serves about 1 person so you don’t even have to share. But you can easily double the recipe if you want to.

**I also have a video tutorial of this on my Instagram highlights!!**

Recommended add-ons to spice this up:

• BBQ chicken or brisket
• Buffalo chicken
• Jalapenos or green chiles (shoutout hatch green chile szn)
• Actual chili
• Truffle oil
• LOBSTER????? WHAT!!!
• or just eat it plain like I do and spoon feed it to yourself on the couch while watching Selling Sunset

what you need:

• A HEAPING 1 cup of shells I used Banza shells because I was trying to be #healthy
• 1 cup freshly graded Gouda grate it yourself don’t buy the bagged stuff it’s like plastic
• 1/2 cup milk you can use almond milk or any other lactose substitute just make sure it is not sweetened or flavored because no one wants sweet vanilla shells
• 2 tablespoons unsalted butter
• 2 tablespoons all purpose flour
• 1/4 tsp kosher salt
• 1/4 tsp ground black pepper
• 1/4 tsp ground mustard my secret macaroni ingredient!!! shhhhhh!!!

what you need to do:

• In a large pot, boil some water and add a bunch of salt to it. Cook your pasta to package instructions.
• In a separate nonstick pan, melt your butter on low-medium heat (like a 3 on the dial).
• Using a whisk, mix in the flour to your melted butter, creating a thick roux.
• Whisk and cook down the flour for about 2 – 3 minutes, until it is a very thick paste.
• Add your salt, pepper, and ground mustard. Whisk to incorporate.
• Slowly whisk in your milk, continuing to whisk for another 2 – 3 minutes, or until the mixture is a cohesive thick gravy like consistency. It will be weird and a little curdled at first but just keep whisking.
• Once it is a pretty cohesive, almost pudding like texture, add in your cheese and whisk and whisk until it becomes a cheesy pot of sauce.
• Taste to make sure the salt level is okay, and feel free to add more if you prefer.
• My salt thought process: add a little at a time because you cannot take it out, but you can always add more.
• Once all of the cheese is melted, use a slotted spoon and scoop your noodles a little at a time into the sauce. Do not drain them, as we want that pasta water to help thin out the sauce and coat the noodles.
• Once you add all of the noodles, stir to combine. Since the shells have little tiny caves in them, stir for a bit to make sure you get them completely coated in sauce.
• Plate into your ONE SINGLE BOWL and and DIVE ON IN!!!!!